Antony saw Matteo rushing out of the company, and even though he had other things to attend to, he left before his usual time and drove towards his home at high speed. The employees at the mansion found it odd that he arrived so early, especially in such a hurry.He quickly took a shower and came downstairs, announcing that he wouldn’t be having dinner at home that day. His routine had always been like this, even when he was married to Giovanna. He used to come home late and rarely slept at home at all.When he parked his car in front of Roberta’s house, she was already waiting at the door, eager to see him. It was strange for Antony to look at that woman and feel absolutely nothing. He briefly remembered how deeply in love he had once been with her, so much so that he had even considered defying Nicolaus’s whims just to satisfy his heart’s desires. When Roberta disappeared, saying she couldn’t bear to see him with another woman, Antony thought he would die. From that day on, he hated
Giovana looked at Antony from a safe distance, wondering what his true intentions were to be there. She would not believe, even if he told a million times, that his presence was a coincidence of fate. He had done it on purpose, with what intentions she would never have known.“Have you chosen what you want for tonight, Giovana?” Matteo asked, just to make her look at it.The inconvenience completely took the environment between them. Giovana could not disguise what Antony’s presence caused in his body. He responded, like magnetic waves, with every look he threw at her.“Forgive me, Matteo,” he put his hand on his forehead, gently smoothing it, perhaps trying to disguise the wrinkles of worry that predominated, “I will want the same as you.”It was clear that she was not paying attention to anything that happened around her, except in the presence of Antony. If I did, I’d know that Matteo didn’t pick one particular dish. Matteo glanced at Antony, who looked at Giovana as if to devour h
His hot lips made her lose touch with reality. His tongue invaded hers, and Giovanna almost surrendered completely.Matteo, frozen in the middle of the room, watched the scene, feeling his blood boiling almost to the boiling point. He wanted to run to where they were and punch Antony in the face until he learned not to come between him and Giovanna. But as if Giovanna herself could read his thoughts, her body moved away, and she raised her hand to slap Antony’s face.The entire restaurant heard the sound the slap made. Antony blushed and glanced at Giovanna, showing a hint of regret, but not enough for her to seek forgiveness.“What do you think you’re doing?” Her eyes teared up quickly, not sure if it was from shame or the pain that kiss was causing her heart. “I’m no longer your wife, Antony, so you no longer have the right to touch me.”A mocking smile, mixed with desperation, formed on his handsome lips.“Thank goodness you’re no longer my wife,” he replied firmly, taking a few st
Antony picked up Giovanna when he realized she wasn’t waking up and carried her back to the vehicle, placing her unconscious in the passenger seat. He only noticed that his hands were trembling when he grasped the steering wheel to drive to the hospital.The journey there was tense and filled with negative thoughts. Giovanna remained unconscious, while Antony’s phone vibrated insistently beside him. He repeatedly glanced at the screen, aware that Roberta urgently wanted to speak to him. However, Antony refused to stop talking to anyone until Giovanna was fine.He drove to a private hospital where one of the best doctors was his longtime friend. Not only that, but he picked up Giovanna again, realizing that her body temperature had dropped significantly. He feared she might die in his arms, even leaning his face toward her nostrils just to make sure Giovanna was breathing. He rushed into the reception area, where he saw a nurse and pleaded, “I need help,” his trembling voice revealing
The blood stopped circulating through his body, and Antony turned as white as snow. He could only hear noises and, with blurred vision, watched Caleb hurry towards him. When he regained consciousness, he was lying under the hospital bed, thinking it had all been a dream.“If I had known you’d react like this to the news, I wouldn’t have said anything without sedating you first,” Caleb laughed as he finished measuring his blood pressure.“What are you talking about, Caleb?” Antony appeared even more confused, placing his hands on his head and waiting for the dizziness to pass.“Giovanna is pregnant, Antony,” he repeated the words Antony didn’t want to hear, “and according to the tests, she’s already in her fourth month.”Antony stood up so quickly that he almost collapsed again. He grasped the table when Caleb made him sit back down.“I know it’s shocking news for you, especially since you recently divorced her,” he handed him a glass of water, “but you need to calm down.”“I am calm,”
When the maid knocked on the door, Antony realized that the day had dawned without him even having slept. He instructed her to come in and found his almost naked boss in front of her. She quickly turned around, so she couldn’t see him in his intimate moment, and only then said,“Dr. Caleb called this morning to inform that Mrs. Giovanna has been discharged,” she began making his bed. “What happened to Mrs. Giovanna?”Tania, even forgot that Antony was her boss, turned around this time without surprises; he was already dressed and had a concerned look on his face.Antony didn’t want to answer that question, let alone talk about Giovanna. He clenched his jaw, and silence was what Tania got for a few seconds.“Mrs. Giovanna is no longer your employer for you to worry about her,” he was harsh with his words, “and if Caleb calls again, tell him I have other priorities than to worry about a traitor.”Antony hurried out of the room, already ready for work. He left Tania behind with a complet
Antony was very close to Giovanna’s house when a loud noise came from outside the car. The car started moving strangely, and soon Antony discovered what it was.“Damn it!” he exclaimed as he hit the brakes and turned off the engine.When he got out to see what had happened, he realized that the front tire had burst. He put his hand to his face, lamenting and trying to calm himself down. His phone vibrated in his pocket. He quickly grabbed the device and saw that it was a call from Ricardo. There were already dozens of missed calls, and he figured it must be urgent.When he answered the call, he didn’t even have time to explain or ask for help.“You need to come back to the company immediately,” the tense voice on the other end of the line indicated that the matter was really serious.“I can’t come back now; my tire just blew out,” he kicked the tire with one of his feet, venting his frustration, “whatever it is, Ricardo, reschedule for another time.”“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that, A
Antony quickly walked towards Giovanna and grabbed her by the arm, dragging her away from everyone without any ceremony.“What do you think you’re doing?” she forced him to let go of her, now outside the office.“Preventing you from making a foolish mistake,” he said, staring at her too closely. “You don’t even know if they’re telling the truth or if there’s another will, which I doubt my father made.”“That guy inside claims to be your brother,” her comment infuriated Antony. “And he looks a lot like Nicolau.”Antony almost opened his mouth to insult her, but he gave up. He had many other things on his mind to discuss with Giovanna and couldn’t afford to waste more time.“It seems you’ve recovered very quickly from last night’s illness,” he was ironic because he knew it annoyed Giovanna, “funny that Matteo, whom you claim to be the father of this child, has no knowledge of your pregnancy.”Antony’s comment made Giovanna’s blood freeze in her veins. She turned red, like a child caught
Nicolau got discharged a few weeks later. When Antony saw Giovana holding their son for the first time, he felt so many things that he couldn’t decipher the feeling that pulsed the strongest in his heart.As Giovana approached with a genuine smile on her face, she asked him if he wanted to hold their son for the first time. Nicolau was so small that Antony was afraid of hurting him. He looked at the baby, who was sleeping peacefully in his mother’s arms, and with an affectionate look, he replied yes.Holding his son for the first time made Antony understand the true meaning of love. Ricardo himself, took without him noticing, a photo who imagined that photograph hanging on their wall.On the other side of the room, Tania was packing things for Giovana’s departure, her eyes filled with tears.“I think I haven’t forgotten anything,” she quickly scanned the room, looking for anything that might have been left behind, but there was nothing.Tania soon realized it was time to tell Giovana
Antony got into the car next to Xavier and was driven to the company. When he found the memories of that place almost paralyzed him. He barely remembered the last time he had been there. He had aspired to own that empire even when Nicolau was alive. His eyes would sparkle at the thought of owning it all. Now, standing in front of everything he had achieved, none of it made sense anymore. In the end, the greatest wealth he had received was marrying Giovana.He entered the elevator alone. Xavier had left with the mission of buying the shares and returning them to Antony. And to think it was because of those shares that he married Giovana for the second time. Now his life revolved around her. A smile tugged at his lips as Antony came to this realization. At that moment, he found himself completely in love with his wife, despite his promise never to fall in love with another woman besides Roberta.When he stepped out of the elevator, the first face he saw was Valeria’s. The woman looked a
Antony had a fixed idea in his head and thought about it every time he looked at Giovana. He had spent that night by her side, holding her hand while she slept. She was eager to see Nicolau, but the doctors recommended that she wait for the anesthesia to wear off before getting up. The next day, when Antony woke up, she was sitting up, which startled him and made him rush to help her.“What are you doing?” He looked at her, scared that she might do something reckless.“I want to see our son,” she said, already putting on her sandals, indicating that no one would stop her.Antony threw his head back, closing his eyes tightly and sighing in disagreement, but when he looked at her and saw a deep sadness for not having met their son yet, he relented.“All right,” he said, taking her hands and helping her to walk, “let’s go meet Nicolau, and on the way, we’ll talk about something very important.”“What do you want to talk about?” She looked at him, furrowing her brow with concern.“I need
Antony stopped to think about what Andreas was saying. Things in his life were starting to calm down, and he needed to recognize that Andreas had made a considerable effort to help him. On the other hand, Andreas fell silent, embarrassed, as if he had made significant mistakes and was convinced that Antony would never forgive him. Only after a long period of silence, in an attempt to clear up the misunderstanding, did Andreas apologize.“I should have told you that I didn’t find Giovana when I arrived at the farm,” Andreas’ regretful tone was more than enough for Antony to understand that the boy was not at all happy with what had happened. “I promised you that I would take care of Giovana, and I didn’t want to fail again.”Antony laughed with disdain, as if he had heard a very tasteless joke.“Yes, you should have told me,” he replied calmly, looking away at the nursery in front of him, “but you need to stop always trying to please me. Why is my approval so important to you?”Andreas
Antony stared at Xavier with an apprehensive look. The lawyer was terrified until the call was ended. When he finally hung up the phone, he looked at Antony with a lump in his throat.“What happened?” Antony sweated, anxious to hear good news from Giovana.It was all he could think of. It was about Giovana’s safety, as if nothing else mattered. Before Xavier could think of opening his lips to tell him what was happening, his cell phone rang again. He looked confused at the phone number, realizing it was Andreas.He answered the call, hearing the boy asking to speak to Antony on the other end of the line.Xavier left, leaving Antony apprehensive behind. It took him a long time to make that decision. Would it be more appropriate to inform Antony about his freedom first than to let Andreas take up his time?He came back with the phone in his hands and handed it to Antony. He saw the man’s face slowly transform, and minutes later, he felt drawn to the most important news of his existence.
Irma slowly opened her eyes and heard voices coming from afar, as if in a dream. The trees seemed to be in constant motion, making her head spin faster. The same man she had seen in front of the farm was the one who came to her aid. Although dizzy and disoriented, Irma tried to get up and escape. Her efforts were in vain, as she was weak and injured. The man held her and called the police.When the police cars arrived, she mocked the officers. She laughed uncontrollably.“Do you not know that I am Giovana’s mother?” Her disoriented look frightened some. “I came to visit her. Don’t I have that right?”“She ran away when I called her,” the man accused. “She ran through the woods and fell, hitting her head. Forgive me, but Mr. Andreas asked me to watch over the farm and forbid this woman from approaching.”The police seemed confused by the situation. One of them approached Irma, touching her arm, which greatly irritated her.“You need to come with us.”The order did not sit well with her
Giovana could no longer stand the car shaking all the time. She closed her eyes tightly and believed that the pain in her abdomen was because of the long hours of travel. Tania remained by her side, never letting go of Giovana’s hand for a moment, and although she told the maid that she was okay, Tania could see from Giovana’s face how much she was suffering from the long delay.“We need to stop,” Tania said, noticing Giovana’s face changing color. “Giovana won’t be able to endure this much longer.”“We can’t stop now, Tania, it’s only a few more hours,” Maria declared.“You’ve been saying that for two days now,” she snapped, though she had no reason to.“Please, Tania, don’t argue with Maria because of me. I’ve already said that I’m fine.”Giovana held back from grimacing as the car went over a pothole, throwing her body forward. The pain was increasing as the minutes passed. Giovana remembered the moment when Antony was taken by the police and his words, begging Giovana to leave the
Antony was in a room, being watched by police officers. In front of him, Xavier kept talking only about subjects that wouldn’t raise any suspicion. The lawyer already knew about the evidence against Irma and was preparing to put his plan into action.“Ask Andreas to go to Giovana,” he said, looking at the mirrored wall, imagining the figure of the delegate looking at him behind the glass. “Keep her safe.”“Andreas has already gone to the farm,” he said, wiping the sweat from his face. “I’ll get him out of jail today, Antony. I propose we put an end to this injustice once and for all.”Xavier was in a hurry, although Antony insisted on knowing who had been responsible for discovering his location. Xavier had no idea who it had been. He left the interrogation room, demanding to speak to the delegate.The man was arrogant, thinking he deserved a prize for arresting a fugitive from the police, which Xavier certainly disagreed with. He placed the paid bail on his desk, which made the man j
Someone called Irma that morning and informed her that Antony had been found. The voice on the other end of the line asked her to turn on the TV as Giovana’s location would be revealed.She paced anxiously around the house, waiting for the moment to put her plan into action. Her soul would only find peace once Giovana was dead. When she entered the living room, the TV was broadcasting Antony’s arrest live. She stopped and looked at the small screen, seeing Giovana’s face. Her eyes sparkled with emotion. She had finally found her daughter Gina’s killer.A sudden sense of unease surged in her heart as she hurried to pack her bags and leave. She saw Gina pass by the hallway, sending a shiver down her spine. Gina's constant visions and appearances tormented Irma. Surely her mind’s delusions, but she believed Gina’s spirit would only find peace when Giovana finally paid with her life for the crime she had committed.“I will draw her blood and bring it to you,” she said to the empty walls,